Going to a Writer’s Conference – Tips for Survival and Success – Part Three

So what's left? The con is over, you're
bloody exhausted and possibly coming down with something. Mind spinning and
feeling overwhelmed, excited and inspired, chances are you want to sleep for a
week, and then write for another week solid.

After the Con:

Get your butt to work on Monday and drag
yourself through the day. We’ve all been there. Drink a boatload of water,
sleep a lot, and eat properly again. Vitamin C is your friend. Your coworkers
may or may not want to hear about how you spent your weekend. Perhaps you'll even
reconsider how you spend your days in the regular, mundane existence of
employment. But trust me, keep your day job.

You know who will want to hear
about your weekend? Everyone who reads your blog. Write about it, and make sure
you include experiences that are unique to you. Who did you meet? What did you
see? Were you there when that life-sized Dalek blew steam and scared the
restaurant waiter? Post your pictures and put names to as many faces as you
can, not only for your own future reference, but for others to put faces to
names, as well. You might even include links to publishers and writers you met,
as it will bring traffic to their sites as well. It's always nice to have a
chance to promote others in a logical context.

Aaah...good job. But you're still not
done.

The rest of the week will be spent doing
some follow-up. Go through the business cards, bookmarks and flyers you picked
up all weekend. If you had a conversation with the person, email them directly
and say how nice it was to meet them, and mention something specific you might
have talked about to help jiggle their memory of you. You don’t have to write a
lot, just a couple of sentences. Light and polite. Under your closing
salutations and name, make sure you include a signature that includes your
website address. If you already have a newsletter, also provide a link for them
to subscribe. (Website and subscribe links should be in your permanent
signature anyway.) Don't be offended if you don't get a response right away, or
at all. Most people are playing this catch-up game as well as keeping up with
the regular day job, taking care of the kids, and fighting off sickness.
Otherwise, look through the websites of businesses and people you didn't speak
to in order to learn more about them, and how they fit into the grand picture.
Everyone is connected in some way.

Hook up and find all of those people on
Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and whatever else you’re subscribed to. Your
online rolodex is very valuable. Keep your initial connections alive and
occasionally comment on or retweet something of theirs.

Back to the Message Boards. You want to
stay top-of-mind. Continue to get to know to know people and become a part of
the community by finding the related message boards, and hang out online. Some
message boards are more...volatile than others. It's the Internet, put on your
bid-kid pants and play nice. Everyone is connected in some way.

In the long run, if you find yourself
reading things by authors/editors/publishers you've met, take the time to write
a review. That could be posted on Amazon, Goodreads, and even your blog. Again,
promoting others is always appreciated even if they don't see it personally.
Others will see you boosting the signal.

Plan the next con! It's a vicious cycle,
addictive, and necessary. Go back and read Part One to find out which cons are
right for you, decide what you can afford and ask around about how you can save
money at the next location. But there's a difference this time around, you've
already met people! Send along a note or post on their wall/Tweet ahead of time
to say that you're going and you hope to see them there. You'll know what to
expect the second time around, and might even have ideas about what you'd like
to do differently. It's possible that you also have more confidence as you see
familiar faces in the hallways.

Perhaps you'll have something new to
promote?

If only you had more time to write...but
that's another (upcoming?) blog post.